Mindy McGinnis is the author of several books for young adults, including the Edgar Award–winning novel A Madness So Discreet as well as The Female of the Species and Heroine, both of which were in the American Library Association’s Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults. The First Cut Is the Deepest is her first novel for adults. A ninth-generation farmer and former school librarian, Mindy lives Ohio.
A hilarious, glittering, pop-noir thriller about a rising musician and her new BFF, the secretly psychotic popstar who brought her on tour
"Mindy McGinnis is a maestro of the wonderfully unhinged." —Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of Girl Dinner
Gretchen McMurphy was playing bingo halls and dive bars until a fitness influencer used her breakup anthem to help followers get a better booty, and now she’s landed her dream gig—opening for iconic pop star Fae Deeds.
Suddenly Gretchen has things she’s not used to having: a sizeable income, screaming fans, bottled water preferences, and a friend who understands the pressures of the music industry, the daily battle of being a woman in the public eye, and what it feels like to have every man you’ve ever loved hurt you.
Fae really gets it. Fae knows. Fae has developed her own tools for dealing with these issues—and it’s not good coping skills or proper meditation. It’s much, much sharper than that. And pretty soon Gretchen must decide what (and who) she’s willing to sacrifice for fame.
Razor-sharp and riotously funny, The First Cut is the Deepest by Mindy McGinnis is a deliciously unhinged thrill ride down the music industry’s darkest alleys.
“McGinnis gleefully satirizes celebrity culture in her audacious adult debut . . . McGinnis’s unabashedly horny, increasingly bonkers plot unfolds from Gretchen’s 'crass-ass' but endearing first-person narration. The tale walks a tightrope, balancing hijinks and heart with chills, thrills, and a wicked feminist sensibility. This exhilarates from start to finish.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The First Cut is the Deepest is riotous, irreverent fun. Mindy McGinnis is a maestro of the wonderfully unhinged. I love supporting women's wrongs." —Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of Girl Dinner
“The First Cut is the Deepest is a dark comic masterpiece that made me laugh out loud every other page. Unapologetic, hysterical, and ferocious. Gretchen McMurphy is the hero we need right now.” —Chelsea Cain, New York Times bestselling author of Heartsick
“Oh my god this book is good. Cynical and hilarious, The First Cut is the Deepest is a brutal satire of the machinery of fame. Gretchen’s voice is sparkling and profane—she had me laughing on every page—and the prose is as sharp as a well-loved axe. I just wish our real pop stars were as interesting as Fae Deeds!” —W.M. Akers, USA Today bestselling author of To Kill a Cook
“A mechanical bull ride of a book! 12 seconds at a time it throws you and picks you up and throws you again, exquisitely. A ripper of a read with a molten core. Fun and surprisingly tender, The First Cut is the Deepest is a deliciously unhinged anthem." —Margot Douaihy, USA Today bestselling author of Scorched Grace 